Flexible sigmoidoscomy

[Charlie-36]

Hello ladies I hope you're all as well as possible today.

Im due to have a flexible sigmoidoscopy when I'm on my period as I've been getting cyclic rectal bleeding. Has anyone had this and did it show anything up ? I'm dreading it as I have so much pain after any sort of examination...

Thankyou xx

[NuttyBiscuits]

I have the same symptom and have had 2 Flexi sigs. It's not fun, but it's really not that bad. The worst bit is the preparation - depending on what protocol your hospital prefers, you may have to follow a low residue diet for a week before the procedure, and you'll have no food for 24 hours before it. Then the laxative is vile.

Once you've been through all that, the actual procedure is easy!

I too have cyclical rectal bleeding, and a previous laparoscopy has diagnosed severe endo including adhesions on my bowel. Consequently, I need surgery to remove the endo and release the bowel adhesions. The reason for my flexi sig was for my bowel surgeon to investigate the adhesions - he didn't see any endo in my bowel, but he did find a stricture (a narrowing of the bowel due to the adhesions).

The scope didn't hurt at all until he reached the stricture. Then it hurt quite a bit, but was over in seconds. 

It's not pleasant, it's not dignified, but it's quick and they treat you with utmost care and respect. 

Good luck, you have my sympathy xxxx

[Charlie-36 in reply to NuttyBiscuits]

Hi nuttybiscuits thank you for you reply

Yeah I'm not looking forward to the before bit I've got a leaflet on the low fibre diet I have to follow before hand. They've said no food and drink just 2 hours previous but it's the enema I have to give myself 2 hours before the procedure so luckily my husband will be at work lol

I had a lap 2 years ago now with general gynaecology. I had a chocolate cyst on my left ovary which was all a mess bound with adhesions and it says on my report I had adhesions on my bowel too aswell as left fossa she said she lysed these. The aftercare was non existent I've learnt a lot more on this site since! I'm now under a specialist centre. I did have an Mrs 5 month ago and nothing showed up on the bowel but this bleeding is a worry, it's nice to know that something did show on your scan so at least I know it's possible! So I'm assuming that's the reason for the cyclic bleeding? All my pain is on the left side and it's hard to know what's causing what anymore as it's been suggested that my pelvic muscles are causing a lot of pain so due to start pelvic physio in a couple weeks.

Thanks again for your response and lots of luck for your lap and recovery xxxxx

[mylady77]

Hello,

I recently had this procedure and it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I react pretty violently to anything with a laxative effect and was terrified I'd make a mess everywhere but the enema only caused me to go to the loo once and while it wasn't pretty, it was all over quickly.

The procedure itself was fine and strangely fascinating to watch on the monitor. The surgeon took a couple of biopsies (which came back clear) and as he pinched the bowel wall and tugged I was expecting it to hurt but I didn't feel a thing.

There was a lot of wind after the procedure and some peppermint tea - as recommended by a lot of lovely ladies on here - really helped to shift that. I had a little bit of bleeding when I went to the loo for the next couple of days but I checked and that's normal. It was never very much.

It was a quick process and has greatly helped my peace of mind, as far as the rectal bleeding is concerned. There was no sign of endo but I do have a diagnosis of adenomyosis, following an MRI, so I'm not sure how this may affect the bowel, if at all. Back to the gynaecologist this weekend...

Best of luck and I hope you get the answers you're looking for.

[Charlie-36 in reply to mylady77]

Hi mylady77

Thankyou for your response everyone is so lovely on this site. Right well I will stock up on peppermint tea and it certainly sounds like it's over pretty quick. I guess I'm more worried about the pain after as when my GP did a rectal exam I had such bad pain for days after but it's got to be done!

Aw sorry to hear you have adenemyosis, I hope you have a nice helpful and knowledgeable specialist! Goodluck with it all xx